The earliest prototype of the Thesis, called
Giubileo, was used in the
Great Jubilee, presented to
Pope John Paul II, bearing the production version's design yet modified as a
landaulet. Lancia's chief designer's remarks on the design were: "People will be looking for excuses not to buy this car. So, we wanted to be damn sure we didn't give them anything to hook onto." To that end, the car was intended to compete with the
Audi A6 and
Mercedes-Benz E-Class. Due to this reason, it had more luxurious features and technological advancements. The Thesis was also the first production car to introduce an
electric parking brake, although the new
BMW 7 Series, introduced the same year with an electric parking brake, technically beat the Thesis to production. Describing the driving quality, Horrell wrote: "You can tell it's a heavy car, but there's no distress in letting this [test car with the V6 engine] build up a gentle sweat. Its autobox is attentive and smooth. The engine, though quieter than in any Alfa, is all you hear because road and wind noise have been quashed. Ditto rattles. This is a tight ship." The Thesis is equipped with 6-speed manual or 5-speed automatic Comfortronic, which is available for all but 2.0 models. The interior was trimmed with leather or the suede-like
Alcantara material long favoured by Lancia. The verdict of
Car stated: "If Lancia can be turned around this is the car for the job." The Thesis was replaced in 2011 by a new flagship sedan, based on the
Chrysler 300, rebranded in continental Europe as the
Lancia Thema. == Models ==